Practical Frivolity

Do you have time on your hands? Well, if you wear tiny, ring-like watches on your fingers you do. No, it’s no joke. “Digits,” rings that are watches--or watches that are rings--are one of this season’s maddest fashion trends.

The tiny, 2-ounce watch, which sells for about $29 at Adray’s in Van Nuys, comes in 10 different brightly colored designs--one for each finger.

Digits are a big hit with teen-age girls, said Bijan Rouhi, manager of the watch department at Adray’s. “It’s a fashion thing,” he said. But if you think these watches are strictly fashion frivolity, take note: They’re practical, too. Digits are waterproof.

Rouhi said that as summer approaches, teen-age girls wear them to the beach. “They can splash around in the water with them, and also they don’t get tan lines on their wrists. I guess tan lines on their fingers don’t bother them as much.”

But even the older and more somber watch-wearer can indulge in a little finger fun. “We also have a watch-ring that’s made of 14K gold,” says Rouhi. “It’s very beautiful.”

Maybe timing really is everything.